Starting Over in my #100DaysOfCode Journey

I haven’t composed a blog post in a while, not that anybody’s watching or has noticed my absence. Lol.

A few updates:

  • I’m still working.
  • I’ve been coding, I just haven’t been logging my progress.
  • I haven’t read any of those books I said I would read in my last blog post. Not a one. I plan to eventually, it just hasn’t happened yet. xD
  • I’ve decided to pivot my career interests.
  • I might give up my Nanodegree for the 100Devs catch up crew.

I currently work in Help Desk. It’s a pretty sweet gig and most people in IT recommend starting out in Help Desk to advance up the tech ladder and I truly believe I got really lucky.

As stated above, I’ve been coding. I’ve been working on a JavaScript course to help supplement what I was learning in the Front End Developer’s Nanodegree. The modules provided by Udacity weren’t enough for me to really grasp the material but this Udemy course by Jonas Schmedtmann has been a life saver. I’ve been logging my progress through the course in a readme attached to my FENDSelfStudy repo on GitHub. It’s been dope, despite the trouble I’ve been having understanding functions.

I haven’t read the books mentioned in my last post. I’ve purchased most of them but just haven’t had time to read them. Hopefully, I can tackle at least a few of them soon because I think simple book reviews are a good idea for blog posts. Lol.

I’ve decided to pivot my career interests to Cloud and DevOps. So aside from #100DaysOfCode, I am heavily considering #90DaysOfDevOps and logging my journey on LinkedIn and Twitter. Learn to Cloud has a 6 month challenge as well that’s right up my alley as I plan to do the Cloud Resume Challenge anyway.

I’ll be updating my portfolio website soon to reflect my newfound interests. ?

I’m heavily considering going to WGU for a BS in Cloud Computing as I am already working toward a few of the certs listed in their program and I think it’s time for me to finally obtain my Bachelor’s of Science. I have other career plans, but this blog post would be like 6 feet long if I sat here and typed all that out, lol.

The Nanodegree concerns me because I am less than 10 days away from graduating but negative 2 projects. If my projects aren’t turned and reviewed, then I won’t graduate or receive the certificate. I am quite disappointed in this as I was soooo excited about winning the scholarship to attend the program but starting my new job really put me behind by about a month…which is why I’m stuck attempting to play catch up right now. I’m not sure if the effort is worth it because trying to stress cram the material so I can build the projects is making it hard for me to retain what I’ve learned; which seems counterintuitive.

It’s unfortunate but it’s not the end. I still have 100Devs and it’s dope Catch Up Crew. I do feel as though I should’ve primarily focused on 100Devs in the beginning knowing what I know now. I even sacrificed school for my Nanodegree smh.

As far as #100DaysOfCode goes, I am starting back on day 38, as that was my last recorded day working on the challenge. My plans are to work on a Software Engineering course daily, maybe do a CodeWars challenge and either read a blog post or take a LinkedIn assessment pertaining to what I’ve learned that day.

For #90DaysOfDevOps, I am considering following Michael Cade’s approach but in my own way. I am still working out the details as to how I will execute this, but I plan to log the journey either way.

If you’ve made it this far in my post, thank you so much for reading!

Here are a few things I’ve been enjoying lately:

YouTubers: Network ChuckJosh Madakor, and The I.T. Girl.
Discords: Baddies in Tech and MASTERMND Academy.
Twitch Streamers: MASTERMND.io, and MewTru.

How I plan to break into tech

This post is inspired by Asia Sharif & Nicole Young’s Notion planner.

How it all began…

Hiiii! I’m Raven. An INFJ & Magickal Girl. I’m a STEAM student with interests in Front End Web Development and Web Design. I don’t necessarily come from a non technical background as I’ve been tinkering with computers all of my life and I started coding when I was 9 years old on NeoPets and MatMice. My love for code stems from being able to manifest my thoughts and ideas for websites and apps by way of my finger tips.

My plans for the future…

My tech interests include HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, MERN, and possibly Python later on.

I’m currently studying Front End Web Development through Udacity. I’m also partaking in Leon Noel’s #100Devs 30 Week Software Engineering Bootcamp. In school I’m studying Graphic Design with a minor in Web Communications/UX.

I recently changed my major from Computer Science to Graphic Design because I realized a Computer Science degree wasn’t necessarily going to prepare me for the career I desire in Web Design.

Obstacles I faced…

I didn’t do well when I started college. I never had freedom before in my life so when my feet touched the soil at the great Southern University A&M college in Baton Rouge, LA I went BUCK WILD. So buck wild that I flunked out of college two years in a row.

Me flunking college resulted into me spending my early 20’s in a horrible loop of working to survive and surviving to work. I was usually working two menial jobs at any given time and I often worked so many hours, I would end up in the hospital for chest pains. The chest pains came from the stress on my body and the mental stress from not making enough money to pay rent.

I remember in 2017 wanting to learn how to code and wanting so desperately to burn the midnight oil after work but it just wasn’t happening. At multiple points, I waited tables at restaurants that were open from 10AM to 2AM, getting off after 4AM and then having to turn around and do it again the next day. Coding after work was nearly impossible.

The following year, I continued to struggle every single month to make rent. The months I did make it, I have no idea how. Unfortunately, I hit rock bottom and was evicted from my apartment. Fortunately, my parents allowed me to move back in with them while I pursued school and obtained my Associates Degree.

Cultivating a new mindset…

I love Asia’s idea of shifting her mindset by way of self development and reading books. I curated a curriculum for myself to aid in reminding me of why I’m doing this. Leon Noel has a gift and is incredibly amazing for what he is doing with this community. I don’t think I’ve ever been more fired up about anything in my life that requires self motivation and I plan to maintain that fire.

I plan to shift my mindset by reading:

  • Atomic Habits – James Clear
  • Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One – Dr. Joe Dispenza
  • The Mountain is You – Brianna Weist
  • Start With Why – Simon Sinek
  • The One Thing – Gary Keller
  • The Compound Effect – Darren Hardy
  • So Good They Can’t Ignore You – Cal Newport

A few movies I’ll be watching:

  • Hidden Figures
  • On the Basis of Sex
  • The Imitation Game
  • Just Mercy

As well as a number of Ted Talks including:

  • Simon Sinek – How Great Leaders Inspire Action
  • Elizabeth Gilbert – Your Elusive Creative Genius
  • Brene’ Brown – Why Your Critics Aren’t the One’s Who Count
  • Peter Sage – How to Eliminate Self Doubt Forever & The Power of Your Unconscious Mind
  • Sam Gerrits – On Losing Your Mind and Finding it Again

How I plan to get to where I want to be…

I will be utilizing Nicole.Young’s Notion Planner to plan out my course work and studies.

My course work will include Udacity’s Front End Developer Nanodegree, #100Devs 30 Week Software Engineering Bootcamp, FreeCodeCamp’s Responsive Web Design cert, the Colt Steele Web Developer Bootcamp, a few certificates by Aquent The Gymnasium and I might do Scrimba’s free 7 hour JavaScript course.

So far I have already…

I’ve gotten through the basics of HTML & CSS on Udacity, I have earned a certificate from Aquent – The Gymnasium‘s course called Coding for Designers and I’m on Lesson 2 of Shay Howe. I still have to make my Anki cards but on we move!

Thank you for reading and I hope my story serves as a boost for anyone interested in transitioning into tech! I plan to post about my coding journey, self development and reviews about the books and movies I mentioned earlier.

You can follow me or connect with me at: Twitter, IG, LinkedIn, etc.